The present invention relates generally to a dog walking device and, more particularly, to an easy to use, quick leash release, comfortable body band that provides for hands-free dog walking, back and abdominal support for the dog walker, and directional security for the walked dog, without the discomfort of the leash holding device bumping against the groin area.
The background information discussed below is presented to better illustrate the novelty and usefulness of the present invention. This background information is not admitted prior art.
According to United States Pet Ownership Statistics, a study conducted by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) 2003-2004 National Pet Owners Survey, there are approximately sixty-five million owned dogs in the United States, with thirty-nine percent of households owning at least one dog. All dogs benefit from being walked and dog-walking should be a fun and relaxing activity. It is a good way to spend time with a beloved canine companion and provides a means of exercise that benefits both the dog walker and the dog.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported 141.5 million people to be employed in the United States with many of these workers from households that depend on two incomes. This means that many homes may be left vacant for long periods during the day and that the dogs who reside in these houses are left indoors for these long periods. For many dogs, this also means being kept locked in a crate. While it is true that not everybody who works also owns a dog, a quick comparison of both pet ownership statistics and employment statistics reveal that a large portion of dog owners are, indeed, absent for lengthy portions of the day. Considering this, it is important to recognize that dogs require attention and exercise upon their owner's return.
Not only is exercise important for dogs, it is also important for dog owners. Current statistics reveal that fifty-eight million Americans are classified as overweight, forty million as obese, and three million as morbidly obese. This means that eight of ten adults over the age of twenty-five are overweight, and seventy-eight percent of Americans are not meeting their basic activity level recommendations. The growing problem of childhood obesity is also one that cannot be ignored. While only four percent of children were considered to be overweight in 1982, today sixteen percent of all children are considered obese. Additionally, one in four overweight children has already begun to show early signs of type II diabetes and sixty percent already have one risk factor for heart disease. With these alarming facts, it is not surprising that hospital costs associated with childhood obesity have increased from $35 million in 1979 to $127 million in 1999. Given that obesity is an escalating problem throughout society, it is easy to appreciate that the exercise provided during the activity of dog-walking is as beneficial to the owner not only for weight maintenance, but to ensure overall health.
According to the American Heart Association, nearly twenty-five percent of people are totally sedentary. Scheduling a small portion of time for a simple exercise, such as dog-walking, may be extremely important for people who are trying to improve their health. In addition to keeping weight under control, daily walking reduces the risk of heart disease by enhancing blood circulation throughout the body, reduces blood cholesterol levels, prevents and manages high blood pressure, and prevents bone loss. Additionally, many people who make time to walk their dog experience lower levels of stress and tension, as well as reduced levels of anxiety and depression.
Establishing good exercise habits, such as a daily routine of dog-walking, is important. Dog walking is a relatively simple activity which should be non-taxing and should provide a pleasurable way to spend time with one's pet. Moreover, children who are taught to spend time walking a family dog are likely to continue such activities throughout their lives.
Considering the fact that obesity is now a problem for animals as well, it is just as crucial that they get the level of exercise they need. Obesity in pets causes many of the same problems that it does in people. These problems include diabetes, hip dysphasia, and over-angulated joints, as well as breathing and heart troubles. Obesity adds to a dog's pain, such as the pain suffered by a dog that has arthritis, which, of course, causes a greatly reduced quality of life. Obesity, however, is preventable and largely reversible with some form of daily exercise.
Responsible dog owners understand the great importance of using a leash while walking their dogs, Various cities and towns strictly enforce leash laws, meaning that if a dog is off the owner's property, it must be controlled by a leash. These laws are vital for the safety of the dog as well as the general public. Pet walker's have no control where an unleashed dogs would leave their droppings. And, even the best-trained dog may not be entirely trustworthy off of its lead. For these reasons and others, it is imperative that a leash be used whenever a dog is being walked.
The use of a leash while walking a dog can be used as a means of communication between dog and owner. When on a leash, the dog should be able to sense the walker's body movements and to eventually learn to recognize and respond to various walking behaviors, such as turning, slowing down, speeding up, and stopping. The ability of a leash to transmit even subtle movements made by the person walking to the dog is important at most times, but is especially important when training a puppy.
Although there are countless benefits to dog walking, the activity also poses several potential risks. If the owner does not have complete control over his dog, both dog and owner may strain their muscles if the dog unexpectedly and vigorously resists the leash. Moreover, if an owner should happen to lose his grasp of a hand-held leash, the dog could escape and be at risk of getting hit by a car or could potentially attack another animal or a human.
People who wish to power-walk, jog, or run with their dogs often feel that holding a leash interferes with their arm movements, therefore prohibiting them from gaining the maximum benefit of their exercise. Additionally, the swinging motion of the arm may stress an animal's neck and head region and may also interfere with the rhythm of a natural stride. An upward motion of the owner's arm will shorten the leash, thereby placing an undesirable force on the animal's neck. A downward motion of the arm may produce slack in the leash which would allow the animal to accelerate, which may result in an undesirable force on the user.
According to a study published in the “Animal Behavior Consultants Newsletter” in July of 1992, 63% of the dogs examined had neck and spinal injuries. Nearly 78% of dogs with aggression or over-activity problems were found to have these injuries, and of the dogs with neck injuries, 91% had experienced hard jerks or had strained while on a leash.
There are many devices that attempt to address the problems presently associated with walking a dog and using a leash. One such device attempts to solve this problem by providing for a hands-free leash system that allows hands-free use when the animal is connected to the leash. The system comprises a waist belt, a leash, and a collar adapter/connector. A two-point attachment system on this particular device is provided for use with a second dog. Both of the leash attachment points on the belt are assemblies that have been adapted to slide independently along the length of the belt, preferably all the way around the belt, supposedly so that one or both pets may maneuver around the user without tangling or twisting of the leash system. If the two dogs, however, decide to cross paths while each is headed in similar directions, the dog's leashes could easily become tangled. Moreover, it would be easy for the dogs to overpower their handler if both animals pulled in the same direction. Additionally, having a dog, or dogs, pulling against the handler from the handler's rear or side could easily pull the handler until the handler lost balance and fell. This system, therefore, appears inherently dangerous to use. Besides being dangerous, the use of this belt probably causes considerable discomfort when walking dogs of appreciable size and weight. As the dog being walked pulls away from the handler, the narrow belt of this invention is pulled into the waist area of the user creating discomfort and back strain. What is needed is a band or belt that is wide enough to prevent the belt from being pulled into the waist area of user to prevent both discomfort and back strain.
Preventing a back injury is much easier than repairing one and as most back injuries arise from improper use of back muscles, health care providers recommend avoiding low back strain by avoiding high and/or sudden force on the back. It is not unlikely that walking a dog may result in the walker suffering a sudden pulling force on his or her back muscles. Larger dogs, a plurality of dogs, and very active animals often turn what should be a fun and relaxing exercise experience into a strenuous and tiring event. Having strong back muscles is important in order to ease the work your back is put through each day. Many people, however, do not have optimally strong back muscles. When persons with underdeveloped back muscles walk their dogs hoping to increase the strength of their back muscles, they might be doing more harm to their back than good because of the sudden strains experienced when their dogs lunge and pull on the leash. What would be appreciated would be the means to walk a dog or dogs that would simultaneously protect the walker's back from hurtful strains.
Another device offers a hands-free leash system that incorporates the use of a belt part and a flexible cord part. The belt part has two attachment points for attaching the flexible cord part to the belt part. The two attachment points are positioned on the belt so that once the belt part is attached about a person, one attachment point is on one side of the wearer's body and the other attachment point is on the other side of the wearer's body. Each end of the flexible cord is then attached to one of the belt's attachment points so that the flexible cord drapes down over the front of the wearer's body from the waist belt. Any presently available dog leash (which is, of course attached to a dog) is then attached to the lowest or central part of the flexible cord. This two-point attachment system for attaching the cord to a person's waist attempts to eliminate the possibility that an animal's movements could inadvertently throw a person off balance by having the attachment points located one on each side of a person's torso. However, the flexible cord device hangs in such a way that when the animal and handler are at rest, the metal loop of the leash that is attached to the belt hangs in such a way that the metal loop and the straps in the immediate vicinity are positioned to repeatedly bump into the groin area of the person using the apparatus. This is especially uncomfortable and even painful for male users. What would be appreciated is a device that avoided the central part of the leash connecting parts from coming into contact with the user's body, especially avoiding contact with the groin area.
Another device attempts to address the need for hands-free operation by offering an upper-arm mounted device which permits the user to exercise utilizing a swinging arm motion. An elastic band is utilized, in an effort to minimizing the negative forces created by swinging to the animal. The use of this device to walk any but the smallest dog could easily result in a strained or sprained arm or even in a dislocated shoulder. Moreover, the center of gravity of the person walking the dog is shifted because of the pull and weight of the attached dog and could easily cause the user to fall.
A similar effort teaches a thigh strap that may be worn by the user, with a clip allowing for the quick-reconnect of an animal's leash. A pouch is also included in the apparatus, which can be used for carrying dog food or other training treats. A device that attaches a leashed dog to a user's leg, in a manner similar to the device that attaches a leash to a user's arm, would likely suffer from the same types of problems, such as the use of this device to walk any but the smallest dog could easily result in a strained or sprained arm or even in a dislocated shoulder, and likewise, the center of gravity of the person walking the dog is shifted because of the pull and weight of the attached dog and could also cause the user to fall.
Therefore, it is obvious that there is still a need in the art for a hands-free dog walking device that protects a dog walker's back from the strain caused by the leashed animal's sudden pulls and lunges on the walking leash. Moreover, the device should have a means to securely attach and position the leashes used for walking the dogs to the device to reduce the occurrence of tangled leashes if more than one dog is being walked. It is important that the ability of a dog being walked to pull the walker backwards or sideways is reduced, if not eliminated. It is also desirable to have a device that reduces the animal's urge to make sudden pulls and/or lunges in order to make walking dogs a comfortable, safe, and healthy experience. The belt part of the device should be designed to be wide enough to prevent the belt from “digging into” the users back when a strong dog pulls against the leash and even offers back support to make walking dogs a comfortable, safe, and healthy experience. Moreover, the device should be designed to avoid the central part of the leash connecting parts from coming into contact with the user's body, especially avoiding contact with the groin area, would be appreciated. The device should not be attachable to a users arm or leg to avoid the user suffering from a strained or sprained arm or even in a dislocated shoulder and the device should be adjustable for all sizes.